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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Tutorial Tuesday & Linky Party - A Trio of Favorite Recipes

Good morning everyone! I am super-duper busy with a rather large order right now, so you'll have to forgive me for cheating out a little bit this week with recipes rather than sewing, etc. ;)

However, these ARE 3 recipes that I have had earmarked to share with you all since they were ones that I found shortly after moving. Things were hectic, but I knew they would be great ones to share! So here are three of our new favorite recipes from this summer...

Bird's Nest Breakfast Cups

Salad-in-a-Jar

&

Homemade Cheese Crackers (a.k.a. Cheez-Its)

Bird's Nest Breakfast Cups:

These have quickly become a weekend favorite. I make an entire pan full and then the hubby has a yummy, wholesome breakfast to grab and take with him as he's running out the door at the crack of dawn. Yay for cooking once a week! ;)

Once they're finished, take them out and lower the temp of the oven to 350 degrees.

Crack an egg into each of the cups

Top with bacon and a sprinkle of extra cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 13-16 minutes (or until the eggs are as firm as you like them).

Slide a knife along the edges to remove from pan when cooled.

Notes:

I like to break the yolks in my eggs a bit once I put them into the hash brown cups

When I cheat on these, I use the Oscar Meyer Bacon pieces found in the "salad dressing" section of the grocery store. They're the closest thing to fresh bacon I can find, and all-natural. :)

You can also experiment with ham, sausage, and veggies to make them your own!

Salad-In-A-Jar:

Now, these aren't so much of a recipe as a technique. I had been seeing this idea all over the place for awhile, and thought I should give it a try for keeping my lettuce fresh. It WORKS.

1 Head (or bag) of lettuce
12 oz. to 16 oz. mason jars (depending on how large you like your salad, or if you like to share!)
Paper towels or paper napkins
Salad toppings of your choice

Wash jars and set them out to dry

Wash and chop head of lettuce

Stuff jars with lettuce (the fuller, the better)

Dampen a paper towel and fold it up small enough to fit into the mouth of the jar.

Lay paper towel over the top of lettuce and secure lid.

Turn upside down and store in the fridge for up to a month!!

When you're ready to eat, throw out the paper towel and prep as you like!

Notes:

If you have enough space in your jars you can top your salad while still in the jar and have an easy lunch to-go, or great solution to salad at parties!

Homemade Cheese Crackers:

From goldfish to cheez-its and everything in between, cheese crackers are always a hit with kids and adults alike. Why not make some fresh that are filled with all-natural ingredients instead of preservatives and chemicals like the store bought kind?

Put everything except the milk in a food processor. Pulse the processor, 5 seconds at a time, for about 5 or 6 times, until the dough is in coarse crumbs.

Add the milk and process until the dough gathers together in a ball.

Roll the dough out on a floured board with a rolling pin that has been floured until it is about 1/8 inch thick.

Cut the dough into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. You can put a bit of flour on the blade of the knife to keep it from sticking. Use a toothpick or skewer to poke a hole in the center of each cracker.

Place the crackers at least ¼ inch apart on parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until the edges are just starting to brown.

Put the baking sheet on a rack and let the crackers cool completely.

Eat! Or store in a covered container or ziploc to eat within a few days.

Notes:

Substitute other cheeses for the cheddar for a different snack every time! I've used swiss (Jarlsberg seems to work best) and colby jack, both with great results!

I have a gas oven and it seems to take a little longer to get them nice and toasty around the edges. Mine usually take about 18 minutes.

Now it's your turn!

Link up your projects below for this week's linky party!

Linky Guidelines:

Please feel free to link up as many projects as you would like!

Please link directly to your project post, it makes them much easier for everyone to find.

Thanks for the invite to your party! I grabbed your button and am your newest follower. I'd love to return the favor and invite you to my Share the Wealth Wednesday Link Party going on right now until Sunday! Thanks again! Laura www.laughloveandcraft.com

THanks for hosting! I have never even considered making cheese crackers.. who knew? I am going to try this! Thanks for visiting my blog, I linked up this week, and am your newest follower. I would love you to join the Weekend SHow Off part that starts on Fri, if you are interested!

Hi this is Nicole from Colie’s Kitchen I just discovered your blog and wanted to drop by and say hi. I am now a new follower. I would love to have you stop by Colie’s Kitchen if you get a chance. www.colieskitchen.com

LOVE the Bird's Nest Breakfast Cups! We liked them so much we've featured you today! Come check it out and grab a featured button if you would like. Also, you were the most viewed link-up, so we've added your blog button to our sidebar! =)

Hey, stumbled upon your blog and made the Birds Nest Breakfast. My family loved it and we even made it two days in a row - that's true success. One question for you - Did you use a regular size muffin tin? It's just that the picture seems bigger than actual size, just wondering. Thanks for the great idea. It's always nice to mix things up once in a while, especially for breakfast - a meal that seems to always be stuck in a rut.

Made those breakfast "muffins" tonight. Delicious! I whipped up the eggs before adding them in. I don't think it needs a full egg in each cup, though. I just poured a little bit on over each pile of hashbrowns, then topped it with the bacon bits. Worked out beautifully! Thanks for the recipe. I can see the versatility in it!

Hi, thanks for the recipes! I just made the Bird's nest this AM, and had a difficult time get time them out of the tin. Should I have packed the potatoes more firmly in the pan, as the egg soaked through? Good recipe though, although next time I need to cut the pepper as a bit too much heat for my wee ones. Hubby and I loved it though!

I've made the breakfast nests a couple times now, and they are just delicious. Thank you for sharing!

I do have the same question as @mommyontheledge though. The egg always seeps through, so I don't get the crispy hashbrowns on the bottom and sides (still tasty though). Do you pack the hash browns in pretty tightly? Does it help if they are slightly less than frozen, so you can squish more in?

I made the cheezits last night, they tasted like shortbread. They didn't have the cheesy powder on the outside like real cheezits do, so I put them in a bag and tossed with parmesian and red robin seasoning. It made them better, but unfortunately not near as good as real cheezits :( I will try different modifications of the recipe, thanks for the starting point :)

I made these tonight and they were delicious! I put about 1/4c of the hashbrown mixture in each muffin cup. I use about 20 oz of hashbrowns and it made about 2 dozen. Next time, I'll try letting the hashbrowns thaw a bit more and squish them down in the cups more, as I almost didn't have room for the eggs on top!

I made the cute little birds nests for breakfast today and they are delicious! But all my egg soaked through, too, making it more of a quiche than a nest of hashbrowns with egg on top. I think next time I'll try compressing them down into the muffin pad with the bottom of a glass.

Welcome!

Welcome to The Little Birdie Blog! This is my little slice of heaven, inspired by and often modeled by my precious little girl. :) Look here for information about my etsy shop, projects I'm working on, tutorials, and other fun stuff! Everything I feature in my shop is handmade, personally crafted, and designed with your little ones in mind. Nothing gives me greater joy in my work than knowing something I make is special enough for your baby!